Coty and Tarohn discuss the roles of Daniss Jenkins and Duncan Robinson with the first-place Pistons.
Coty and Tarohn discuss the roles of Daniss Jenkins and Duncan Robinson with the first-place Pistons.
Milwaukee — Jaden Ivey will be available for the Detroit Pistons for the first time since New Year’s Day. His return will Saturday at Fiserv Forum, where the Pistons will face their Central Division rival, the Milwaukee Bucks.
Because of two injuries, Ivey has been out for 10 months. His first significant injury happened on Jan. 1 when he broke his left fibula against the Orlando Magic. He was supposed to return at the start of the season, but he later suffered a knee injury during training camp, which forced him to have arthroscopic surgery on his right knee in October.
“All of his teammates are excited, and he is excited. The journey that he has been on has been a struggle, and it has been frustrating,” Pistons coach J.B. Bickerstaff said. “But when you watch the way he approaches the work, he puts himself in a position to come back even stronger than when he left.
“It is going to take time for him, and his load will increase. His minutes will increase. But his teammates, coaches and even himself could not be more excited.”
Ivey’s return comes after the Pistons assigned him to the Motor City Cruise on Monday. The purpose of his assignment was to help Ivey regain his on-court rhythm during team workouts. Bickerstaff has had a chance to watch Ivey during five-on-five play, revealing that he still has the same explosiveness that made him a foundational piece of the Pistons’ young core.
“He looks good. You almost forget how fast and explosive he is,” Bickerstaff said. “His ability to explode from a stop to a start, the way he can get to his speed on his first step, is remarkable. It’s been close to a year since we had him on the floor with the guys. We are looking forward to it, and I know he is as well.”
Before going down with a pair of injuries, Ivey had appeared in 30 games last season, averaging a career-best 17.6 points on 40.9% 3-point shooting, to go along with 4.1 rebounds and 4.0 assists
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